Trustee Mark Welch told the Journal-News that the township population is expected to grow by a few thousand residents, which would only net them a few more permits. He said there has to be another solution.
“The township needs to find some way to do a workaround to this thing with the liquor control board up in Columbus,” Welch said. “We can’t have economic development stymied because West Chester doesn’t have the required permits through Columbus. There has to be some vehicle we could use or find that would allow us to gain some more of these full-blown permits.”
The liquor permit quota is 298 in West Chester, and 198 have been issued with 12 applications are pending. That volume is based on 62,086 residents. There are numerous classifications of alcohol permits from liquor stores to restaurants and other drinking establishments that are open to 2:30 a.m.
West Chester doesn’t have more full restaurant permits available, it is maxed out at 32. Nearly every jurisdiction in Butler County is at or very close their quotas for that classification. There is a work around to the limitation, businesses can buy unused permits, known as TREX, from other jurisdictions, but it is cost prohibitive, according to Hamilton’s Assistant to the City Manager Mallory Greenham.
“If we’re going to try to entice full service restaurants they’re going to need a liquor license and if we’re out they have to go out to the free market and try to buy one and do a TREX, an economic development transfer of that liquor permit,” Greenham said. “They might have to purchase it for some outrageous amount I know some liquor permits are sold for $50,000. It can get really crazy. It is good to enough liquor licenses in your community to foster economic development.”
The state fee for the top-shelf liquor permit is $2,344.
Greenham said the city was able to increase its permit count by creating two Community Entertainment Districts (CED) associated with the massive Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill sports and convention complex under construction. There are now 30 permits available in the urban core, but that doesn’t help with revitalization in other areas of the city. The CEDs must be tied to new development areas with a minimum $50 million investment.
She said short of a population increase, the city is running out of permits. The quota is 296, and they have 45 left, not including those inside the CED, which is a problem.
“We don’t see the liquor licenses as, ‘Oh, a bunch of bars are going to open up,’” Greenham said. “We really see them as tools that restaurants use to be successful.”
West Chester Twp. Economic Development Director Aaron Wiegand said the township doesn’t have the ability to create a CED because of the locations of their entertainment establishments. The trustees are also revisiting creating Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas (DORA) but Wiegand said that is problematic as well.
“Entertainment districts are generally for new developments centered around an entertainment anchor,” Wiegand said. “They are similar to DORAs in that they need areas, West Chester certainly has researched these issues we just frankly don’t have the on-the-ground infrastructure of restaurant and entertainment areas that kind of would tie these items together.”
Unlike a Liberty Center or Spooky Nook West Chester’s venues are scattered throughout the township.
Other communities countywide don’t appear to be experiencing the same issues as the two biggest jurisdictions. Liberty Twp. is the fastest growing jurisdiction in the county and Economic Development Director Caroline McKinney expects the new census will boost their numbers.
“We would expect we will have more permits available as a result of the population increase,” McKinney said. “As more of our commercial land builds out, it’s something we could run into but so far we’ve never not been able to attract a business due to lack of liquor license.”
Fairfield, Fairfield Twp. and Middletown officials did not indicate they are experiencing an issue either.
The city of Oxford, home of Miami University, has other issues with liquor permits.
“Since the state and not the local political jurisdictions issues the licenses, the city can only accept or reject the new or renewal license applications,” City Manager Doug Elliott said. “As a college town, underage drinking and related health issues are a major concern for the city and the university for which we work closely with our permit holders to address this.”
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